RECNET Report: “Sustainable Urbanisation in the Paris Agreement”

New 22/11/2016

Summary

The RECNET Report "Sustainable Urbanisation in the Paris Agreement: Comparative review for urban content in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)” was presented in Side Event on Cities at Marrakech COP22-CMP12 Un Climate Change Conference.

The 2015 UN Climate Change Conference, the twenty-first session of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties -COP-21 was convened in Paris, France in December 2015, it was the largest UN conference ever seen, with 37.878 participants, including 20.000 government/parties representatives, 8.000 IGOs/NGOs observers, and 3.000 media.

By 2030, almost 60 per cent of the world’s population will live in urban áreas. 95 per cent of urban expansion in the next decades will take place in developing world. 828 million people live in slums today and the number keeps rising. The world’s cities occupy just 3 per cent of the Earth’s land, but account for 60-80 per cent of energy consumption and 75 per cent of carbon emissions. Rapid urbanization is exerting pressure on fresh wáter supplies, sewage, the living environment, and public health. But the high density of cities can bring efficiency gains and technological innovation while reducing resource and energy consumption (UNDP SDG Goal 11 facts and figures).

Summary of Findins:

110 Countries included “urban content” in their NDC, in particular in rapidly urbanizing regions of Africa and Asia

Recycling Cities International Network RECNET, RESURBE International Program on Urban Resilience, UNESCO Chair on Sustainability at Technical University of Catalunya Technical University of Cologne,Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) Erasmus University Rotterdam, Makerere University, National Autonomous University of Mexico, AdaptChile